This invention relates to an automatic camera apparatus of the single lens type for use with self-developing type film, and in particular, to a camera apparatus of the single lens reflex type for use with self-developing type film wherein the automatic camera operations are mechanically controlled in a comparatively simple manner.
Photographic cameras of the single lens reflex type for use with self-developing film such as Polaroid Corporation's SX-70 Model Cameras are now well known in the art. These cameras require only that the photographer frame and focus the scene to be photographed after which a start button is depressed to cause the control system of the camera to commence a fully automated photographic cyclce which terminates upon the delivery of a fully-processed print. Such a camera is fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,714,879 entitled "Reflex Camera," by E. H. Land, et al, issued Feb. 6, 1973.
The photographic system embodied within such automatic cameras requires the use of a multi-event control process in which a film unit positioned at an exposure plane is secured from light both during procedures of viewing or framing and focusing as seen as well as during the performance of control operations converting the camera from one operational mode to another. For instance, the reflex component is retained against the exposure plane of the camera, thereby blocking light from reaching a film unit when viewing and focusing procedures are carried out through an open shutter or exposure mechanism. In the course of a photographic cycle, this protective positioning of the reflex component is terminated as the component is moved into an exposure position altering the path of the camera. During this conversion, the exposure chamber is maintained light tight to protect the film unit contained therein by an automated procedure wherein the shutter or exposure mechanism is retained in a closed status to block the optical path of the camera. When the reflex component is properly seated, the camera assumes an exposure mode configuration permitting an automatically controlled exposure interval to ensue. Following the automatically regulated interval during which a film unit is exposed, the exposure chamber of the camera is again made light tight by retaining the exposure mechanism in its light blocking position. Automatic processing of the exposed film unit may than take place after which the reflex component is returned to a position securing the exposure plane. Once the exposure plane is secured by the reflex component, the shutter is returned to a fully opened condition in readiness for the next succeeding photographic cycle.
The aforementioned functions are all automatically controlled through a complex electronic control circuit which is selectively actuated by way of a plurality of control switches. It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide a simplified fully automatic reflex camera for use with self-developing type film units wherein the automatic functions are mechanically controlled without the use of such complex electronic control circuitry.
It is another object of this invention to provide a simple and economical reflex camera for use with self-developing type film wherein a plurality of photographic related operations are mechanically controlled to occur automatically in a select sequence.
Other objects of this invention will be in part obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. The invention accordingly comprises the mechanism and system possessing the construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure.